The motion of a ground-based moving target such as a car, truck, or military vehicle, causes the radar signature of the moving target to shift outside of the normal ground return of a radar image. Sandia has developed techniques to automatically detect ground-based moving targets and to extract other target information such as location, speed, size, and Radar Cross Section (RCS) from these target signatures.

(Note: Resolutions are for original images prior to downsampling for world wide web viewing.)

Sandia National Laboratories and General Atomics participated in a data collection for the DARPA sponsored Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) program during late October of 1999. The Sandia designed Lynx® radar demonstrated exceptional reliability by gathering MTI data on every single pass of the collection. The image below shows three moving targets travelling on a runway at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The runways are clearly visible near the center of the image. Sandia has designed automated algorithms to detect moving targets and extract other information (location, speed, size, etc.) about the target. The Lynx® radar is sensitive enough to detect small automobiles at speeds as low as 6 MPH and can measure the range to a moving target to better than 2 m of accuracy.

(Click to enlarge)

Coherent Change Detection of Vehicle tracks and an optical photo of the same area (1-m resolution)

Lynx® is a registered trademark of the General Atomics corporation.